CHAPTER 5
Research Conclusions
The following is a summary of the principles derived from careful evaluation of the analyzed results along with insights from the theoretical lens of W. Edwards Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. The data analysis suggests the following:
1. Servanthood: Christian leaders in the marketplace seek to influence the lives of employees, customers, and the community by serving.
2. Common vision: The aim of the system is clear to everyone.
3. Stewardship: The aim of the system is based on values, not short-term returns.
4. Integrity: Learn to listen to the process and the system for consistency.
5. Relationships: Working alongside others to help them flourish.
6. Admonition: Knowledge of the effect of the system on the performance of people.
7. Renewal: Evidence of the PDSA cycle so that everyone is involved in transformation.
8. Equip: Lead, coach to provide methods and tools.
9. Empathize: Understand what is most important to an individual.
10. Engagement: Personal transformation through meaning.
Theoretical Lens
W. Edwards Deming explained his management theory as four interrelated fields he called the System of Profound Knowledge. It is an action-based framework for leaders who wish to transform or create a flourishing organization. The first step is the transformation of the individual. He describes this change as a reorientation of one’s way of life to apply the principles of profound knowledge in every kind of relationship.
Deming explained,
A transformed individual will perceive new meaning to life and interactions between people. That once the individual understands the system of profound knowledge, they will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people. . . . Once transformed the individual will: set an example, be a good listener, but will not compromise, continually teach others and help people pull
away from current practice and beliefs and move into the new philosophy without guilt of the past.1
He believed the four fields were a prerequisite for running a company well and was convinced that if management applies the principles and practices appropriately, then quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability can increase while simultaneously lowering costs by reducing waste associated with staff turnover, rework, and ligation. To Deming, there was an emphasis on fact-based or data-driven decision-making and the elimination of personal blame without negating personal responsibility. A key element of
empowerment is the forgiveness of honest mistakes coupled with the duality of distributed decision-making authority and accountability for decisions made and subsequent results.
In Deming’s mind, a profoundly knowledgeable or conscious individual will inspire others in the organization.
Theory of Systems
Deming teaches that a system must have an aim; without it, there is no system, and it must be clear to everybody. System management is action-oriented, requiring systematic learning based on awareness and understanding of interrelationships, as well as predictions and comparison of both short-term and long-term results from alternative courses of action.2 A system cannot produce greater quality than it is capable or
organized to produce. Deming said, “Where there is a quality problem, there is an 85-90 percent probability that management actively caused it.”3
This theme sought to understand how interdependence between components such as strategies of competitive cooperation of the system create a need for
1W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education, 2nd ed.
(Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2000), loc. 745, Kindle.
2Rick L. Edgeman and Lynn A. Fraley, “A System of Profound Consciousness: Building beyond Deming,” Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 19, nos. 7-8 (August 2008): 688.
3Lloyd Dobyns, Thinking about Quality: Progress, Wisdom, and the Deming Philosophy (New York: Times Books/Random House, 1994), 56.
communication and cooperation to achieve success, that cooperation produces better results than competition, and questions the traditional American notion that
competitiveness is human nature.
Principle 1. Principle 1 is Servant: Christian leaders in the marketplace seek to influence the lives of employees, customers, and the community by serving. The
management principle that dominates this study is that great leaders serve. Each participant seeks to be increasingly transformed as a servant-leader. Executive B said, in business, everything rises and falls on leadership.
Unlike the concept of the servant leader widely circulating in the secular marketplace today, Jesus is the source of the servant-leadership inspiration for these executives. By his actions, Jesus is the essence of servant-leadership “who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28). Peter provided instructions for the leadership style that he knew well. It focused on serving others by eagerly and willfully shepherding the flock, being examples, and not domineering over others (1 Pet 5:2, 3). Peter advises humility: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet 5:5).
For these marketplace leaders, service goes beyond the customer. Service is an active form of love. Maintaining healthy relationships also relates to a better life for everyone in the system. They are all committed to serving individuals equally. For example, Executive D highlights the importance of treating all people the same, and Executive E structures the operation to be available when customers need them the most, even though it may not always be convenient.
Professionalism, service, and leadership are a consistent aim of the participants.
There is a consistent commitment to training and communicating continually, which promotes satisfaction in service.
Principle 2. Principle 2 is Common Vision: the aim of the system is clear to everyone. According to Deming, the aim of the system should be that everyone gains based on values. Paul wrote, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters . . . that all of you agree, and that there be no division among you that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor 1:10).
In a culture that highly values diversity, these executives understand quite clearly that a common sense of vision, aim, or purpose is essential, and continual
communication is vital to reinforce that aim. Precedent literature showed that “the greater the interdependence, the greater the need for the parts to work together.”4 Executive A illustrates a common theme that every forty-five days, all-employee meetings are held where they talk about the accomplishments they had as a company and new
developments for customers.
The executives believe believers should seek common purpose both in the church and in the workplace. Executive C explained, “You must cast the big picture vision that this is what we are trying to do,” providing the vision of each role and how it relates to what is expected for the achievement of the vision.
Organizations with disagreement about basic values and convictions and no cohesion are doomed to failure. The approach of monitoring processes starts with consistently reviewing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) so that the team can ensure they are not going backward while also tracking the progress of improvement in every area.
Leadership can be on display by trusting the team to be accountable for the KPIs. There is a difference in managing people and leading people. At its simplest form, management is about doing things well, and leadership is about doing the right things.
4Deming, The New Economics, loc. 774.
Principle 3. Principle 3 is Stewardship: the aim of the system is based on values, not short-term returns. To Executive C, stewardship is the realization that “it is not yours; that you are taking care of it.” It is more than financial stewardship, which is only one component. They are to be stewards of all those things that God has given them in a way that has a positive influence on people in a caring way. The aim is to go above and beyond customer expectations. The corporate purpose or aim of Chick-fil-A, Inc. is
“to glorify God by being faithful stewards of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
Executive E makes it clear that everyone understands the aim and that it is based on a value proposition. For example, he explained that everyone at the workplace wears a wristband with Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.” The verse supports the heart of the mission, which is to “keep
customers comfortable, save them money, do it better than anyone else and honor God.”
William Messenger clearly summarizes the perspectives of these marketplace leaders:
Our ultimate goal is God’s kingdom and his glory. This gives us freedom to use the resources of the world, but we must steward them for the benefit of all people, including future generations. In fact, we should not even think in terms of balancing the needs of one individual versus another, but in terms of building up communities of mutual support and service. Love is the mainspring of God’s kingdom, and when we work out of love for the people for whom Christ worked and died, our work is not in vain. It has eternal significance and survives along with us into the new world of God’s kingdom fulfilled. In the meantime, we take extra care to use the resources at our disposal to care for those in need.5
He explains that when the perspective is to glorify God in everything ones does, it gives ultimate meaning to work.
Theory of Variation
To Deming, life is variation. There are always variations among people, in service, in output, and in the product. He states that various segments of the system of
5William Messenger, ed., Genesis through Revelation, Theology of Work Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2015), 66.
profound knowledge cannot be separated.6 They interact with each other. Thus, knowledge of psychology is incomplete without knowledge of variation. Deming’s starting point was that variation could be measured, and one could improve the system by reducing the variation in each process. If process variation is not measured effectively, it is impossible to know for certain if a system is stable—that it is predictable—or out of control. The use of data requires knowledge about the different sources of uncertainty. For most managers, the fact that variation exists and can be accurately measured are foreign concepts. Most American managers blame workers for not following procedures or for not working hard enough and do not know how to find the causes of variation with any certainty.7
Principle 4. Principle 4 is Integrity: learn to listen to the process and the system for consistency. Continual improvement includes caring, consistency, and
communication as a team. For example, Executive A illustrates the effective strategies for reinforcing standards in a caring way. In the meetings that include all employees, they discuss what they did, what is being accomplished, what must be done to keep satisfying customers, and why customers come to them. They also talk about inconsistencies. As a whole, a system cannot be run at its most effective until the capability of each process is known. To do so, predictable variation, inherent in each task, must be measured.
Psalm1 describes how every person should live with personal integrity (Ps 1:1- 2).8 An individual’s actions is a reflection of their theology and their relationship with God, including at work. By finding out what is important to employees, Executive E can
6Deming, The New Economics, loc. 754.
7W. Edwards Deming, The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012), 6.
8Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
be strategic with his employees. Connecting a work vision and a personal mission are essential for consistency for focused continuous improvement.
Paul provides instruction for a life of integrity: “Be not arrogant or quick tempered or greedy but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright and
disciplined” (Titus 1:7-8). Executive E exemplifies these attributes: “When you touch a person’s heart, they are more likely to be loyal employees and more willing to change because they believe in your leadership. It comes down to asking and finding out what is important to them” and acting consistently with the stated values. He continued, “When you have a culture of doing things differently and doing things that mean something, not just as a financial reward, but caring for people at a deeper level, it affects the whole family [organization].” Then the outcome is unity.
Principle 5. Principle 5 is Unity: working alongside others to help them